Started repairing radios in high school after WWII depressed father's import business. Fulbright scholar earned Ph.D. in electrical engineering from MIT. Began research on hi-fi sound. Started Bose Corp. 1964. First contracts with NASA, U.S. military improving audio communications. Built brand on groundbreaking loudspeaker design. Today Bose iPod docks, surround-sound home entertainment speaker systems and noise-canceling headphones dominate market. Sales believed to exceed $2 billion. Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.